i am not going to use any names for this because i don't want to cause potential hurt to anyone.. there was a very nice family in my congregation when i was a teenager.
step-dad, mom, and her 4 kids.
the dad became an elder, had a great business, the mom spent lots of time with the kids.
Awwwww...our dear friend Puternut.....another terriible waste of a beautiful human being because of the "love" the WTS followers demonstrated....and just doesn't it warm your heart to the max and make you want to flee back to "the mountain of Jehovah" and be just LIKE THEM? (shudder)
Annie
i am not going to use any names for this because i don't want to cause potential hurt to anyone.. there was a very nice family in my congregation when i was a teenager.
step-dad, mom, and her 4 kids.
the dad became an elder, had a great business, the mom spent lots of time with the kids.
Yes, I can safely say that I have known three I am sure of and a fourth I am leaning towards thinking he did the same because of the circumstances surrounding his death at 21 years of age. The other three ALL were having difficulty staying to the rigid "WTS requirements"; one was DFed and another had just come back to the JW fold. One was a longtime "study" that had an alcohol problem but appeared to be conquering it and then went home and shot himself right after an elder's meeting. There was another suicide of a recently DFed lady that occured a couple of months before I moved here so I never knew her. They ALL had that one link.....they were either had been IN the WTS and were now out....or they were studying......and all these are from a very small area here in the boondocks.
My heart goes out to all of them and the families they left behind that now have to cope with their deaths.
Annie
did the thought ever cross your mind?
i have done so very recently.
i might someday - i am tired of having no friends, my life in the rearview mirror.. jeff.
I guess I am the type of person that once I have made a deep and thoughtful decision, it would be like moving a mountain to change my mind. Having spent 30 years in loyal devotion to the WTS and then discovering I had been duped... there were months and months of mental anguish, heavy prayer and staying away from the Kingdom Hall that helped me come to the decision I did. Once I had made up my mind and then told others about this, there was NO attraction at all to ever return to the inside of a Kingdom Hall OR any of the WTS teachings.
This is along the same idea back when I was divorced....that I was told (by several people) that I would have moments of longing for the marriage and regret for having been divorced in the 60's. I can truly state that never for one moment....did I ever experience that regret, in fact, I was thrilled to be away from a hideous situation. Much the same with the WTS---despite being shunned by everyone I knew---deep down I was relieved to be OUT of that ratrace and everything I was "expected" to do according to the WTS. I never once gave returning TO ANY OF IT a second thought.
The "evil world" and the folks in it.....are nowhere near as frightening as the WTS purports them to be and, as I have found, nowhere near as frightening as those in the Kingdom Halls were. It COULD be that MY attitude about others that do not worship as I do, has lightened up and I am much more tolerant than I was AS a JW! (shudder) I no longer determine who will be my friend by where they happen to go to worship.
Annie
this must have been mentioned before,but now reniaa is back it could be fun.. if jw's are even part way to the truth,and all other religions are false, then they must have a doctrine that is unique to them,given by holy spirit, but plainly taught in the bible,without resorting to fancifull exegesis and bouncing around from verse to verse out of context etc.. what is that doctrine?.
love.
wobble.. .
Thanks to all that replied to me.....I have dealt with Lolly/Reniaa on another forum and had agreed to disagree on all the points being discussed. When I saw her posting here with pretty much the same arguments....I wondered "what gives?" with her. As the old line from the "King and I" goes.......Tis A Puzzlement!
hugs,
Annie
this must have been mentioned before,but now reniaa is back it could be fun.. if jw's are even part way to the truth,and all other religions are false, then they must have a doctrine that is unique to them,given by holy spirit, but plainly taught in the bible,without resorting to fancifull exegesis and bouncing around from verse to verse out of context etc.. what is that doctrine?.
love.
wobble.. .
Outlaw said: "Annie..Your post is not harsh..Many people feel the same way.....Reniaa is a WBT$ advocate..This her Soap Box.."
Yes....it sure seems to be the case.....but it would be good if she herself would clarify this for us.
Whaddya think, Reniaa?
hugs,
Annie
this must have been mentioned before,but now reniaa is back it could be fun.. if jw's are even part way to the truth,and all other religions are false, then they must have a doctrine that is unique to them,given by holy spirit, but plainly taught in the bible,without resorting to fancifull exegesis and bouncing around from verse to verse out of context etc.. what is that doctrine?.
love.
wobble.. .
I realize my last post may have sounded rather harsh....but it just gets to the point that when someone wants THAT BADLY to defend whatever the WTS does and teaches....they they WOULD be happier if they stayed in it. Why should we try and change her mind? Ones that do this have already MADE their choice and are looking to justify that choice. They (and she) do not NEED our permission OR will we ever agree to her choice for ourselves because we are well past the point of defending the WTS ever again.
I might want to ask Reniaa....just why IS IT you are really here on these two boards? Are you looking for US to convince you to get OUT of her....or are you trying to convince US the WTS is really "God's only true religion"?
Annie
this must have been mentioned before,but now reniaa is back it could be fun.. if jw's are even part way to the truth,and all other religions are false, then they must have a doctrine that is unique to them,given by holy spirit, but plainly taught in the bible,without resorting to fancifull exegesis and bouncing around from verse to verse out of context etc.. what is that doctrine?.
love.
wobble.. .
I am having a bit of trouble trying to figure something out concerning Reniaa: the countless threads on two forums that are related to "Do I really want to go back into the WTS"......and the excellent replies as to why she should not bother...and yet, back from vacation and with the very same questions and arguments that she has expressed MANY TIMES over these past months...(perhaps worded a bit differently)~
Does anyone ELSE get the feeling (as I do) that we should just, 1) stop entertaining her monotonous and repetitive questions and 2) wish her well with her endeavors to completely throw herself back into the WTS rat race and allow herself TO be controlled by the masters of deception for the rest of her natural life?
It would seem that posters have made absolutely NO HEADWAY in changing her already made up mind anyway.....so what is there to be possibly gained at this point?
Annie
i was in the newton cong from about 86-96, never baptized..
Born in Springfield, went to Springfield South Unit.....moved to upstate NY in 1974
he was 51. we had not been close in the past few years.. he suffered from a rare ailment called sarcoid.
it can afflict several organs of the body, but in his case, it affected his brain.
it caused swelling, and subsequent issues from that.
Sad to hear about the death in your family. Please do not beat yourself up any more for not going to visit him recently as you mentioned. It is purely the WATCHTOWER'S FAULT that put all the strain between you and him and your visits were not as pleasant as you would have liked them to be. Many of us have had to deal with these same problems brought on only because we saw through the phony WTS and took action.
Be assured that he is at peace, in a better place, and know he realizes NOW what a cockeyed outfit the WTS is now and always has been.
hugs,
Annie
i had a request for documentation of the watchtower societys statements regarding the year 1975. so, ive put these files up for downloading from a filesharing service.
the first file contains the complete text of 3 issues of awake!
26-35 (file is 12 mb):.
Bless your heart for your efforts in this! Thank you! These are the very statements that we all can use whenever the WTS defenders make their absurd claims that "we never said that".
hugs,
Annie
